Spring binding post



Aug. '17, 1948. 5. FOX 2,447,324

SPRING BINDING POST Fil 'd March a, 1944 J ,Zipflenior 71 W. Mi???Patented Aug. 17, 1948 Benjamin Fox, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor, 'bymesne assignments, to Hugh- H. Eby, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Application March 8, 1944,,SerialiNo. 525,551

3 Claims.

This invention relates to spring bindingposts,

ance to screw-threaded .actuation; to provide a, binding post of thefollower type with minimized.

dragon the screw cap in both directions of travel between wire-receivingand wire-gripping; to

provide a binding post of the follower type in.

which rotation of the cap to actuate or permit retraction of. the.follower is accomplished without necessary rotation of. the followerwithout providing eccentric or asymetrical lateral. protrusion on thefollower; to provide a binding post which. inconstruction is formedof..parts all sus: ceptible to automatic screw machinery productlon; toprovide a practical, cheap binding post formedthroughout of cylindricalparts and bores except for the. slot for the wire; and many other.

objects and advantages will become more apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

In carrying out the invention in a simplifiedv form, a screw cap isprovided. which pushes a cylindrical'follower downwardly into arelatively fixed base by means. of. a substantially point en gagem-entbetween cap and'follower, while a compression spring is arrangedtorurge'the follower upwardly for .Withdrawal with the cap as thelatteris unscrewed, while engaging the follower frictionally againstrotation.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1v represents an exploded side elevation partially in fragmentarysection, of thecap, the

follower with its, actuating spring shown in posi-f tion surrounding thefollower, and the fixed base.

relative to which the cap, the follower, and one end of the spring haverelative movement.

Fig- 2 represents a longitudinal section of the assembled elements withthe cap screwed down and with the follower in tight engagement againstthe anvil portion of the base, and

Rig. 3 represents a similar section. with the: parts retractedsufliciently far as to receive a wire to be gripped and with which,electrical contact is to be established.

Before discussing the invention indetail, menqn mi ht be' i e O he factoich rns: the; zes. n rops i g f tsuse h rei and this is primarily thevoltage or current'to be carried and secondarily the diameter of wiresto be engaged. These factors will have to be considered in theconstruction of the binding post of this invention. Generally speaking,the size of the follower and the area of contacting surfaces grippingthe wires will be larger with increased voltages or currents to becarried.

Considering first'the base Ill, it preferably comprises-a loweranchoring stud H which may be threaded as shown, or be otherwisearranged for anchoring in a supporting base or panel. The stud IIdepends'frorn a block or plug I2 which is round in outline, or sothat'it can be dropped into a similarly shaped or cooperatively shapedaperl3; theperipheryof which is preferably polygonal as indicated so.that it can be held against rota with atransverse-substantiallyhorizontal slot [1 merging at approximately the center of the barrelintoa'longitudinal. slot I8 which preferablyter minates approximately at orjust above the plane of the upper surface of flange I3, and the bottomthereof-maybeof any desired shape, such as fiat,

V,-ercurved.- The combined slots I? and I8 may be as shown, or maybeconstructed inaccordance with theadisclosures of any of the figures ofPatentNo. 2,-26'7,449=to Hugh H; Eby in any of the details thereof.

Internally,.the'barrel it has an axial bore 26' extending inwardly: fromthe upper planar end 9' atadistance longenough to receive and house thecompression-spring and follower to be described. The upperend-x-ormouth'ofbore 29 is flared outwardly as at?! into the plane of end .lfinorder to ailord clearance for; and possibly, if necessary, to

guidethe flange of the follower to be described andto prevent the springfrom catching on to the edge.

Thebore zliterminates part way between end 9 follower guide channel 23,which is preferably of appreciably greater diameter than the width ofslot I8, although being preferably, although not necessarily,symmetrical relative thereto, and terminates in a lower surface l9 atleast as far down in the base as the lower edge of slot I8 at or justabove the plane of the flange l3, although being preferably slightlybelow the lower edge of slot I8 so as to establish shoulders by whichthe wires can be engaged in shear by the follower in its grippingaction. The bottom it of guide channel.

and possibly also the lower surface of slot [8 and the shoulders, ifany, between them comprise an anvil portion relative to which thefollower to be described functions.

A cylindrical follower member or shank 24 having the plower preferablyplanar end 25, is provided for guiding sliding disposition in therestricted follower channel 23. At its upper end the follower isprovided with a flange 26 extending laterally beyond the shank orcylindrical portion of the follower 24, and the upper flanged surf-aceis preferably shaped conically or otherwise so as to furnish aconcentric point .21 to be engaged by the cap to be described. Acompression spring 28 is provided preferably of such inner diameter asto have slight clearance from the follower 24, and preferably also, ofsuch outer diameter as to have slight clearance from the bore 20, sothat the normal flexing of the spring between states of compression isusually accompanied by a minimum of axial frictional resistance betweenthe moving and stationary parts. The spring 28 engages between theflange 2B of the follower and shoulder 22 in the bore 20 of the base,and constantly urges the follower upwardly in the combined bore andchannel after the follower has been disposed in the latter two openingsas indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, while exerting frictional resistanceagainst relative rotation of the follower and base. The follower 24obviously may be made either by a screw machine or by an upsettingmachine. Indeed, in certain cases it is contemplated that the follower24 may comprise a rivet.

The binding post assembly is completed by a cap 30. This is providedwith an internally planar transverse surface 3| for engagement by thepoint 21 of the follower concentrically of the cap. The cap isinternally threaded as at 32, is preferably externally knurled as at 33,and at the lower end is provided with an annular thin web 34 susceptibleto being inturned as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in position to abut theflange I B of the base to prevent complete separation of the parts afterthe initial assembly.

With the parts assembled as indicated, the screwing down of the capforces the transverse web 3| against the central point 2'! of thefollower, and with a minimum of rotational frictional efl'ects forcesthe follower axially against the lower anvil surface of the guidechannel at [9. The follower, as noted, is also frictionally engaged bythe spring 28 under the flange 26 and as this frictional area is greaterthan that developed between the conical point 21 and the cap 30, thefollower is held against rotation with the cap, and this is accomplishedwithout providing eccentricities or protuberances on the follower andalso without modifying the follower-guide channel with eccentric orasymmetrical slots to prevent such rotation. To facilitate gripping andcontact-making, the end of the follower 24 at may be roughened orserrated, or it may be provided with a pin or the like as shown in theaforesaid patent to Hugh H. Eby.

Obviously, the axial length of the followerguide channel will be such asto insure proper guiding and the short over-all length of the wholebinding post will be clear, as will the fact that variations of relativeproportions will be made as desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A binding post comprising a threaded base having a wire-receivingslot extending to an opening in the side of the base, a relativelynarrow axial guide channel and a relatively wider recess in concentricaligned relation in the base, the intersection of the channel and recessdefining a shoulder in the base between the channel and recess, afollower slidably mounted in the guide channel and having a flanged end,a compression spring disposed in the recess and surrounding thefollower, said spring being compressed between the fiange of thefollower and the shoulder in the base, a threaded cap sur rounding theflanged end of the follower and movable on and relative to the threadedbase in constant contact with said follower and arranged to force thefollower inwardly against the lower end of the guide channel in thebase, the con-- tacting portions of the follower and cap comprisingrespectively a substantial point and a relatively flat surface tominimize rotative friction in the contact between them as the cap turnson the threaded base.

2. A binding post comprising a threaded base having a wire-receivingslot extending to an open ing in the side of the base, a relativelynarrow axial guide channel and a relatively wider recess in concentricaligned relation in the base, the intersection of the channel and recessdefining a shoulder in the base between the channel and recess, afollower slidably mounted in the guide channel and having a flanged end,a compression spring disposed in the recessand surrounding the theflange of the follower and the shoulder in the base, and a threaded capsurrounding and movable on and relative to the threaded base in constantcontact with said follower and arranged to force the follower inwardlyagainst the lower end of the guide channel in the base, said cap beingrotatable for axial movement and having internally a downwardlypresenting relatively flat surface, and said follower terminating towardthe cap in an external point substantially concentric to the follower sothat contact of the follower and cap is through the point wherebyrotative frictional resistance between the cap and follower is minimizedasflthecap turns on the threaded base.

3. A binding post comprising a base having an anchoring portion, atransversely opening wirereceiving slot having a portion extendinglongitudinally of the base above the anchoring por tion, a compoundaxial aperture being formeclin.

the base extending from one end toward the anchoring portion andcomprising a wide recess and a narrower follower-guide channelrespectively separated by an annular shoulder internally of the base,said base being externally threaded to receive a threaded cap, acylindrical follower having a shank to slide axially in the guidechannel to intersect the wire-receiving slot, a compression coil springdisposed in the wider recess surround.- ing the cylindrical follower,means connecting the coil spring to the follower for outward urgingrelationship relative to the shoulder, a cap threaded on the base inposition to engage and force the follower inwardly against theresistance of the spring, said connecting means comprising a flange onthe follower substantially conical in cross section and of greaterdiameter than the Number cylindrical portion of the follower, thecontact 1,061,195 between the cap and the follower being through 51,264,833 the point of the said conical end only. 1,535,693 BENJAMINFOX. 1,605,033

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th 0 gg zfile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date McWilliams May 6, 1913 Mansbendel Apr.30, 1918 Smith Apr. 28, 1925 Jensen Nov. 2, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS CountryDate Germany Nov. 15, 1940

